Updated 9:44 pm, Tuesday, May 14, 2013

A Cohoes man arraigned Tuesday on weapons charges for carrying a handgun during a police foot chase earlier this month told a judge he was helping the police.

Donald Lewis III, 36, was arraigned after a grand jury indicted him on two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was accused of having a loaded .38 caliber Walther PPK pistol without a permit on May 1.

Police credited two bystanders, who they say confronted Lewis and aided in his arrest, after a 2:45 a.m. call about a fight between two men on Fourth Street. When officers arrived, Lewis allegedly fled.

In Rensselaer County Judge Debra Young's courtroom, Lewis said through Public Defender John Turi, that he witnessed a man robbing someone using the pistol on Fourth Street. He said he intervened and took the weapon from the attacker, who then ran off. Lewis said he was not running from police but after the robber.

Assistant District Attorney Shane Hug admitted in court that an anonymous man came to the district attorney's office saying Lewis broke up a robbery and was trying to catch the perpetrator. Hug said the man left before they could get his name.

Turi asked Young to grant bail but Hug said Lewis has used several aliases, two different dates of birth, has 11 previous convictions, two of them felonies, and had his parole revoked five times.